Records management is an old idea with new possibilities. Although many organizations have implemented some sort of records management system already, today they are turning to the cloud to store their valuable information. Business records storage and management services, especially those hosted in the cloud, can bring about business process improvements in many ways, as outlined below.
Security: One of the biggest reasons to have a quality records management system is to protect your important information. Regardless of whether or not you want to have physical copies of your records, keeping a copy stored in the cloud is crucial to security. A catastrophic loss of data due to a break-in or a natural disaster is something you should try to avoid at all costs.
Compliance: Whether retention policies are something that haunts your dreams alongside clowns and the green floating face from Wizard of Oz, or something you kind of just leave to the fates while hoping for the best, records management services takes the burden off your shoulders. The lifespan of a record starts with “necessity” and ends with “liability”, and a records management system will help you to define the appropriate actions required and then execute them at the appropriate times automatically.
Costs: If you plan on moving primarily to electronic records, this is a big one. Records management services can save your organization money on paper costs (more expensive than you’d think) as well as storage and staff costs. Every time you pay for offsite storage of your records, you’re losing money you wouldn’t have to spend on electronic records, and every minute your staff wastes looking for a physical document is wasted money, too.
Productivity: Not only does wasted employee time cost money, it also costs you, well, time. And it’s not just the time spent actually searching for records; it’s also the time it takes to get back in “the zone.” You know what I mean. Your morning coffee has kicked in and you’re settled and focused and suddenly on a roll. You’re getting stuff done! Then suddenly you can’t find something you need, which turns into a Raiders of the Lost Ark-style search escapade. When you finally make it back to the task at hand, your momentum is gone, and you may never get it back. This is the lost time I’m talking about. When your information is in front of you and organized and ready to go, you can more easily keep that momentum.
Business: Organizations that have it together gain more trust and respect from other people, and rightly so. Having the information you need in a timely manner is crucial to making smart business decisions and providing quality service to others. When your information is in the cloud, everyone in your organization, regardless of their location, can have access to any records they need in seconds.
Business records storage and management can impact your organization in several ways, from compliance and security, to costs, to the opinions others have of your service. When administered as a cloud solution, records management services are free of the high costs, lengthy deployment, and time-consuming maintenance required in product-based solutions. To learn more about our Records Management solutions, check out our case study below and see how Broward Sheriff’s Office implemented a new and improved records management system.
